1.
As some of you know, I decided to do a second round of MFA applications this year. I had planned to cast my net widely, including two fantastic low-residency programs, but halfway through the process became distracted when we decided to sell our house and move. This was something that completely took over. So, I ended up applying to just five very prestigious programs, which I knew were long-shots. Three in California that rejected me. And two on the east coast that waitlisted me. One of those, Boston University, was my dream program—and was the only one I was truly dying to attend.
But I knew my chances were slim—so I was actually very happy to be waitlisted. I wanted to share the letter of rejection because it actually had numbers.
The acceptance rate in fiction was only 1.6% —which my husband pointed out was much more competitive than undergraduate Harvard or Caltech (where he is a professor). And the waitlist was 2%… I was happy and proud to be in the 2% of waitlisted fiction applicants, even though honestly I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I got the letter…
I was also waitlisted at NYU, which might not be quite as tough but who knows? I used my novel manuscript in the application to both schools, but short stories for the California schools.
2.
One other thing I noticed was how much more competitive fiction is than poetry (based on the numbers). This could explain my recent surprising success to be waitlisted in poetry at the Sewanee Writers Conference. Sewanee is my top favorite writing experience of my life so far, and I do think it might be harder to get accepted to that workshop than Bread Loaf. I am not 100% sure but it is a smaller cohort maybe…(?) Anyway, at first I was so surprised by this since I have never workshopped my poetry or taken a class (I really want to!) And when I told my Chinese teacher this she said something about how curious it is when:
sometimes when one tried to do things wholeheartedly, the results may not be good; but on the contrary, sometimes when one has no intention to do something, the results may be positive.
有心栽花花不開，無心插柳柳成蔭
the flower you're nourishing doesn't bloom but the willow you accidentally planted grows into a big one
I really liked this expression a lot….
Anyway, I don’t think I will be applying next year—my age…. my age….
But that said, I was grateful that Boston shared actual numbers in their letter and also happy to have gotten so close to my top choice!! So grateful to my mentors for letters of recommendation and advice and love!
This week’s lesson: quince
Thank you for sharing your news! It was a weird and hard admissions cycle for a lot of different grad programs, apparently. But you’re already doing some amazing writing right here, so I think you’re winning at the artistic life even without the degree programs. Always love seeing your flower art, too!
Oh, fingers crossed you get in! And the expressions -- true! Love the quince. May it bring you good luck!